My big brother Jake finally made it down to visit! It was a bit of a last min decision as he had been waiting for a good deal of the flight for a couple of months. We hit the ground running with his trip, the first day we woke up at 6:45am to play football. A group of friends and coworkers have been playing and when I am around (and can drag myself out of bed that early) I join them for a rousing pick up game. My friend Brandon came over from Kingston to join us and we got to it. Jake got bloodied up a bit after he took a knock on the crapy turf but it just made a cool battle wound. We treated it the way I treat every malady, fresh Aloe. It cures all.
Rehydrating with fresh coconut water and jelly after football.
Here are some of the hight lights from his trip:
Little Ochi for yummy lunch and Pigeon Island for beautiful views and fresh lobster.
Then Jake came with me to meet my cowokers and work with my little students.
Reading with Kerisha like a pro. Our Mama would be proud.
I also took him to explore my site and we went into the market to get dinner fixings and Jake tried a Jamaica Patty for the first time. He was a bit nonplused.
We also worked together to cook a YUMMY Filipino dinner for some of my Jamaican family. It was a big hit and everyone went back for seconds, the ultimate complement.
All in all it was a quick but action packed and I really feel like he got to experience my Jamaican life and that was very special to me. Love you Jaker.
Last week was the Mid-Service Conference (MSC) for my group. Three times during our service, we get together for additional training, program check-in and for the MSC and COS (Close of Service), they provide information about planning for work/school when we return to the States. All of that is nice enough but the best part is getting to get together with everyone again. Depending on where people live on the island, it may be the only times during the service where I will see them. One of the highlights for me was a Clothing Swap that the ladies of G83 organized. We have been on island now for 16 months and mostly wearing the same clothes that we brought with us. There has been the occasional flashy Jamaican article but there isn’t too much shopping we can do on our budget.
STEP ONE: the ladies bring clothes that they don’t wear but are still in good condition. Arrange the clothes in a fetching manor. Let the group brose the wares.
STEP TWO: The person the brought the most items gets to go first and chooses one item. Followed by the second most and so on and so forth. After the entire group has gone, another round and then another. After three rounds, it was a just a “if you want it take it” free for all.
STEP THREE: Move to the accessories/ect. table that included books, magazines, nail polish, seeds, spices and all kinds of fun stuff. Forgo the complicated system and everyone just grab a couple of things. All the items that were left were donated to one of the partner organizations that holds thrift sales to raise money.
All in all, I think the Swap was a great success and I honestly thing it is a thing that other Peace Corps groups should try. The best part was the next day seeing people wearing their ‘new’ clothes and watching the double takes as a we were so used to someone else wearing it.
BONUS: One of my group mates Michelle (whose blog you can find here), is an incredibly talented filmaker and she made this great video during MSC about what we have learned while in Jamaica. It’s fun. Have fun watching it.
THE FIRST TIME A TEACHER TELLS ME ONE OF MY STUDENTS
MADE HUGE IMPROVEMENTS ON HIS LAST PHONICS TEST
I was feeling bummed because one of my students transfered to another school but then I got a visit from a teacher to tell me that she had seen a lot of improvement in one of the boys I have been working with. It’s small, but it made my day. Thursdays are the best.
Post inspired by the delightfully sarcastic and hilarious http://howapcvputsitgently.tumblr.com/
Join me on my adventure in the Peace Corps.
The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect the views of the United States Government or the Peace Corps.
Paz Amor Vida 